


Dwell on the Divine

by holyheck



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: College, Denial of Feelings, Friends to Lovers, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, never cheats though, tyler likes hooking up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 17:46:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8810122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holyheck/pseuds/holyheck
Summary: Tyler and Josh in college trying to figure things out. Tyler is feeling things he doesn't know what to make of. Josh just wants Tyler to be happy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> greetings loved ones, lets take a journey

     Tyler breathed into the kiss, soft lips moved across his and Tyler tangled his fingers in her long hair. She was only slightly shorter than Tyler, but the perfect height so that neither of them had to move very far to reach the other’s lips. His hands roamed and caressed along her sides and he placed both his hands on the backs of her thighs and moved to kiss the junction where her throat and jaw met. She gave him an approving moan and he lifted her legs over his hips. He carefully pushed her back up against the side of the wall and continued to kiss her neck. She moved her hands to his shoulders and pushed slightly back and caught her breath. She looked Tyler in the eye, a smirk on her face. She untwined her legs from around him and then maneuvered Tyler so his back was now up against the wall. She dropped to her knees and began undoing his belt.  
“Is this okay?” her eyes flicked up to Tyler’s as the words left her mouth. Tyler took a minute to fully process what it was she was asking and nodded his head fervently.  
     She hummed happily as she quickly popped open the button on his jeans and tugged down his zipper. His pants at his ankles, she tugged down his boxers and grabbed the base of Tyler’s cock. She stroked from the base to the tip in one fluid, drug out moment as Tyler let a moan escape from his mouth. She kitten licked the tip after a few more strokes then took the tip of his cock in her mouth, flicking her tongue. She eased down until she was covering most of his dick with her mouth, keeping her hand at the base. She began to bob up and down as Tyler whimpered and moaned in pleasure.  
She came up for a large breath air after a few minutes and said, breathlessly “You can hold my hair if you want, don’t tug.” She licked her lips before descending again on Tyler’s dick, tongue out.  
     Tyler carded his fingers through her hair and placed his hand on top of her head just as his cock hit the back of her throat and he felt a moan rip out from the bottom of his throat.  
“I-Im so close, yes, yes” She began hollowing her cheeks at the encouragement and Tyler lasted less than a minute longer before he came into her mouth, she pulled back slightly and let his cum land on her lips running down her chin. She swallowed what was left in her mouth and Tyler tugged her up and kissed her, licking her lips and inside her mouth to taste himself on her tongue. He slowed the kiss and they both attempted to slow their breathing after a few minutes.  
They stayed close together for what couldn’t have been more than three minutes until he took a step back and looked around the unoccupied bedroom, then to the door.  
“You’re good.” he said matter-of-factly.  
She shrugged her shoulders, feigning humbleness, “I did say I was the best”, a smirk stretched across her face.  
“Well,” Tyler said after a few seconds, “The party is still going on but I should probably get going.”  
“Yeah, me too. See you later, man” She laughed and walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. He sighed happily, walked over to the bed, and plopped down. He stared at the ceiling, enjoying the haze after his orgasm and smiled to himself at the events of the night. He inhaled deeply and got up to return to the party.

 

     He made his way downstairs, the music growing louder with every step down. He’d usually try and hook up one more time in a night but right now he just wanted a drink, and to watch everyone make fools of themselves while drunk-dancing. Tyler liked parties, he liked drinking, not to the point of not remembering, but he liked to have fun. He was invited to most- if not all- the parties both on and off campus. He was fairly popular in high school and it pretty much carried over with him into college, he was laid back, easy going, but he also got along with a lot of people so he made friends with a lot of people, and had made more acquaintances than he could even fathom. A lot of people liked him because, although he was seen as “popular”, he was friendly toward everyone and at least gave them a small when he saw them in the hallways or corridors.  
     He located the kitchen and saw a couple hardcore grinding next to the fridge. Tyler felt a small smile appear on his face and grabbed a cup full of (presumably) beer off the counter and took a few drinks before making his way through a crowded dining room and into the living room. He stood for a moment, lingering on the outsides of the room, taking it all in, until he heard someone call his name.  
“Tyler! I thought I saw you here earlier, what’s up, man!” He turned to his left and saw his friend, Nathan, sitting on a couch in between two girls whom Tyler had never seen before, and who were incredibly drunk.  
“Hey, yeah sorry I got, _preoccupied_ ,” Tyler drank the rest of his beer and sat the empty cup on and end table.  
“Oh I see, Tyler, my maaaann,” Nathan was slurring his words and his eyes were glossy as he winked obviously at Tyler.  
     Tyler smiled at his friend’s drunkenness as he watched Nathan turn to his left and begin making out with the girl sat there. He decided he should head home before it got too late and walked back through the mess of people into a hallway that led to a guest bedroom where Tyler had put his coat. He walked in and quickly found his coat in the large pile that had accumulated throughout the night and slipped it on before making his way through the house from the side door in order to avoid the thick groups of people blocking the way to the front door. It was only about 1 am, and Tyler got home usually later than 3 when he went out, so he considered tonight a success in several aspects.  
     He swung around the corner and suddenly felt a body pressed against his and a cup crushed between them. He quickly took a step back and cursed as he looked down. Beer had spilt down the front of his shirt and pants, quickly soaking through the fabric.  
“ _Son of a bitch_ ,” Tyler swore as he quickly grabbed the front of his shirt to pull away from his body in an attempt to avoid beer sticking to his skin. He looked up to see a guy, slightly shorter than himself, but broader and stronger, with small gauges in his ears and hair that had looked previously dyed green, but had faded to such a light color it might as well have been blonde. His eyes were small and his lips were full, and he wore a soft red t shirt that clashed with the slight green tint of his hair. He had on a leather jacket, ripped black skinny jeans, and black low top vans.  
“Oh dude!” Drink Spiller, as Tyler called the guy in his head, had a smooth voice, and Tyler could tell the guy was a little too drunk for his own good. “I’m sorry, I literally spil- spilled my beer all over you.” He sounded sincere enough but Tyler was beyond annoyed. Of course, on a good night, where so he decided to go home early- be a good person- he get’s beer spilled all over his shirt and pants, of course.  
“Yeah I _noticed_ ” Tyler didn’t even try to hide the fact he was snapping at this guy and threw his arms up in the air out of exasperation. Drink Spiller gave him an odd look and moved his shoulders up and down as if he didn’t know what Tyler wanted him to do. Instead of carrying on the conversation that Tyler was sure would just lead to more frustration, he sighed loudly and moved passed Drink Spiller to the door and stepped out of the house.  
     It was colder than it had been when he got to the party but his coat was warm. He shoved his hands in his pockets and began the 15 minute walk back to his house. The beer began cooling and Tyler started to shiver. He pointedly ignored the fact the whole front of his shirt smelled pungently of beer and how it was literally plastered to his chest. If that stupid drunk guy hadn’t ruined his night he’d be having a much happier walk home, he’d be much warmer and much less sticky. He felt disgusting, and sped up his steps.  
     He unlocked his front door and stepped inside. It smelled like weed, his housemates were surely downstairs in the basement smoking and doing God knows what else down there. Tyler did not want to find out. He walked up stairs and began taking his coat off. He entered his bedroom and tossed his coat on his bed as he peeled his shirt off along with his pants and socks. Its times like these that Tyler thanks the heavens for letting him have the master bedroom, so he has his own bathroom all to himself. He crosses the room into the bathroom and turns the shower on the hottest temperature as he goes back into his room to grab the towel he had hanging on the doorknob to his closet. He reenters the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.  
     He pulls the shower curtain back and steps in, hissing at the hot water until his body gets used to it. He reaches for the bar of soap and lathers it in his hands and begins washing the spilt beer off his skin. Tyler wishes that he would have never run into that douchebag at the party, or that the douchebag hadn’t run into him. He washes and rinses his hair then turns the shower off. He dries off and wraps the towel around his waist as he goes into his bedroom. He opens his dresser to find a pair and boxers and sweatpants, then slips them on. He turns the light off in the bathroom and throws his coat from his bed to his dresser and slips under the covers. He searches for the sweatshirt he always keeps somewhere in his bed until he locates it down by his knees and pulls it over his head. He’s warm and closes his eyes, beginning to fall asleep, forgetting all about Drink Spiller and his beer soaked clothes.  
..

 

     Tyler was going to kill his housemates. He didn’t know exactly how, yet, but he could figure it out. Tyler could almost _feel_ the notes of the song slowly starting to deafen him. No matter how many times he shouted down the stairs, to turn it down or turn it off, he was met with shouts of “then put your headphones in”, “don’t be a fucking PARTY POOPER” and his favorite “YOUR MOM TYLER, YOUR FUCKING MOM”. His housemates weren’t the wittiest bunch, but they got the point across, Tyler was going to have to leave _his own home_ for some peace and quiet. He swore and began shoving his books, notes, highlighters, and pens into his bag as he grabbed his house key off his dresser. He took the steps two at a time down to the front door and left the house without so much as a goodbye to anyone downstairs.  
     The library was somewhere Tyler didn’t mind spending his time. There were different floors for levels of noise, the further you went up, the quieter it had to be. The first floor had a bunch of computers, tables, and even a couple couches in front of a projector for giving presentations; the second floor was mostly used for group studies or for people who didn’t mind chatter while they worked; the third floor was mostly used for students who weren’t in groups, but weren’t completely opposed to a small hum of noise; the fourth floor was mostly for people who had to work on computers, but needed mostly silence; the fifth floor, Tyler’s favorite floor, was the most strict of all floors, no laptops were allowed, so no annoying tapping-key noises were present, there was absolutely no talking, throughout the floor there were both desks out in the open and there were small cubicle like rooms that meant complete privacy. Tyler headed to a table towards the back of the floor, and set his bag on the table as quietly as he could.  
     He began where he left off, taking notes for his Intro to Psych class, and working at a pace that was both efficient yet detailed. He managed to take notes for a good two hours before the cramp in his hand and the kink in his neck became to much to bear. He put his pen down and stretched his muscles on his chair. He stifled a quiet yawn as he looked up and around the silent library. His eyes immediately settled on a head full of greenish-blonde hair. Flashes of Nathan’s party quickly flooded his brain and he scowled slightly upon remembering the douchebag who spilled beer all over him. He was sitting in between two bookshelves, biting his lower lip in concentration as he furiously looked between a notebook and novel. Tyler could only see the left side of his face but he confirmed it was the one and only Drink Spiller. He was quickly writing something down when he dropped his pencil and it made a clatter as it bounced off the table onto the floor. He scattered to pick it up and spared a regretful look around the library, trying to determine if he anyone had heard him. He looked to his left and immediately locked eyes with Tyler. Drink Spiller’s eyes took less than a second to widen as he obviously recognized Tyler. His mouth opened slightly as if he were going to start saying something before his brain seemed to catch up with him and he realized where he was. Tyler tried his best to put on a disapproving face, but it didn’t seem to phase the other boy.  
     Drink Spiller tore his gaze away from him and looked back at his book quickly before turning to his left again and looking at Tyler. Tyler gave a questioning look as to say “what? What do you want?” He definitely did _not_ want douchebag Drink Spiller to try and _talk to him_ , especially not in a strictly silent library floor. The other boy was mouthing something and Tyler just silently scoffed and went back to his notes.  
     For the next two minutes, Tyler was acutely aware of Drink Spiller trying to get his attention; he was moving his arms slightly, trying to get himself in Tyler’s field of view, and even quietly fake-yawning. Tyler couldn’t concentrate, every sentence he read he had to re-read three times just to understand what it was saying.  
     Tyler had finally deciphered the paragraph into actual understandable text when a pencil hit him in the shoulder. Tyler snapped his head up and looked toward Drink Spiller, who had his arm extended and a smile on his face. He threw a pencil at him. Douchebag Drink Spiller literally just _chucked a pencil halfway across the room at Tyler_. Tyler was fuming, who did this guy think he was? Tyler made an exasperated face at the boy that pretty much said “WHAT THE FUCK ASSHOLE?!” Drink Spiller’s face shifted into a wide smile and he looked like he was silently laughing. Tyler thought he was an even bigger douchebag than before.  
     More words were being mouthed after Douchebag stopped silently laughing. Tyler stared at the other boy’s lips until he finally saw what he was saying. He was mouthing “I’M SORRY”. At this point Tyler was beyond confused. What kind of idiot chucks a pencil at someone then mouths an apology silently from across the room? Tyler almost found the whole situation hilarious except for the fact he just had a pencil launched at him. Tyler looked down and saw the pencil on the ground and picked it up. He looked back at the other boy and pointed to the pencil. He mouthed “FOR THROWING A PENCIL AT ME?”. The boy shook his head with a smile that almost took up his whole face, tufts of his blonde-green hair sticking out in every direction. “NO” He pointed vaguely to his right with his thumb and mouthed “THE OTHER NIGHT”. Oh, Tyler was quite surprised the guy even remembered him, considering how plastered he was. He watched as the boy pointed to his t-shirt to show where he had spilled his drink on Tyler. “OH.” Tyler mouthed. “OH” Drink Spiller mouthed. Tyler just gave an accepting shrug as if to say “Not a big deal”. Drink Spiller shook his head and mouthed “I’M SORRY” once again at Tyler. In spite of himself, Tyler gave a small smile back. The other boy seemed pleased with the development and flashed his teeth back at Tyler. He made a gesture back down to his books and spared one last glance at Tyler before returning to his notes.  
     Tyler kept looking at the boy long after the other had dived right back into his work. Tyler thought he was unlike anyone he’d ever met. He was weird, quirky, and, although Tyler would never admit it aloud, quite funny. He had a strong jaw line that Tyler envied quite a bit and he also noticed a sleeve of color working its way from the boy’s wrist all the way up to his shoulder, it was breathtaking. In order to stop being an absolute creep, Tyler tore his gaze away from the other boy and picked up his notes again.  
     Tyler was pretty honest with himself usually, as he was being right now. He’d continued doing his notes after the whole encounter with Drink Spiller, but he couldn’t remember anything he read. He’d move on to the next paragraph only to have completely forgotten what was in the last paragraph. His mind just wasn’t focusing, even in the complete silence in the library. He was hyper aware of every movement that Drink Spiller made. He’d look slightly up every minute or so whenever he’d see him move his arm to wipe his nose, or lean on his left hand instead of his right. Tyler chalked it up to having such an odd encounter with the dude literally less than an hour ago, and how he thought the dude was a weirdo. That’s all.  
     He sighed, certain in the fact he wasn’t about to get any more work done today, and spared a look at the clock. It was only 3 pm but he figured he’d gotten a lot of notes done when he first got to the library, so he’d done enough for today. He closed his notebook and shoved everything into his bag before standing up and pushing his chair in after him. He instinctively looked over to where the other boy was studying and saw him already staring back. Tyler decided to play it cool and give a small wave goodbye. He stopped when he saw the boy hold up one finger and carelessly shove his work in his own bag and sling it over his shoulder. He walked over to Tyler and gestured toward the staircase and, without a word said, both set off down the flights of stairs until they got outside the library doors.  
     The air was cool, but not as cold as it could be for a January evening in Ohio. Tyler stopped as the other boy stood directly in front of where he was about to walk, hand extended.  
“I’m Josh,” Drink Spi- _Josh_ said “and I’m sorry I spilled beer all over you last week.” his smile almost blinded Tyler, his teeth were very white, very straight, and _very_ sharp.  
“Oh, um...it’s fine, you were super drunk so...” Tyler trailed off as he shook Josh’s hand. He felt the calluses on the top of his palm and the tips of his fingers.  
“S’no excuse, but, uh, yeah, I felt really bad the next morning, not just from the hangover.” He ran his hand through his hair and smiled at Tyler. It seemed to him that this Josh guy never _stopped_ smiling. They both stood there, on the sidewalk in front of the library, for a few moments until Josh spoke suddenly.  
“So you never told me your name..” He trailed slightly off then abruptly added “It’s fine if like, you don’t want to, like, tell me your name or anything...especially because I spilled beer all over you. I just thought- well I mean, I don’t think tha-” Instead of listening to Josh ramble on for the rest of the evening Tyler interrupted Josh’s stream of consciousness.  
“Tyler.” he said matter-of-factly, as he shoved his hands in his pockets to take them out of view, a nervous habit he couldn’t quite kick. Josh looked surprised, as if he really thought Tyler wouldn’t tell him his name. It took less than two seconds before the familiar Josh expression of a wide smile took over his face.  
“Tyler.” Josh said, as if both confirming his name, and seeing how it sounded as he said it, tasting it on his tongue.  
“That’s me.” Tyler said awkwardly while Josh laughed. His laugh sounded like a story, it had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Tyler thought it was a good laugh to have. Josh’s laughter died down but he continued to smile at him, moreso with his eyes than his mouth this time, but smiling nonetheless.  
“So, are you walking this way?” Josh pointed over his shoulder with his thumb then shoved his hands in the front of his hoodie. “We could walk together so neither of us get mugged or something.” Tyler honestly couldn’t tell if Josh was joking.  
“Mugged?” he questioned, “at 3:30 in the middle of winter? Look around, Josh, we’re the only ones out here, muggers wouldn’t even bother.” He said it all while failing miserably at trying not to laugh.  
“Hey! That’s exactly why you gotta be prepared, dude! They’ll attack when you least expect it!” Josh’s eyes were wide as he pretended to look around for suspicious characters. Tyler couldn’t help but laugh, he could see the large clouds of his breath in the air.  
“Well if we’re walking we better start moving before my shoes get frozen to the ground. It’s _freezing_.” He squeezed his fists inside his coat in an attempt to restore the feeling to them as he and Josh began walking down the street.  
     Tyler was expecting the whole ordeal to be awkward, but he was wrong. They walked in almost companionable silence, their shoulders bumped once when Tyler caught a particularly slippery area of sidewalk, but he quickly recovered and Josh just did what Josh did best, and smiled. They walked together for about ten minutes until they reached a street and Josh was veering one way and Tyler the other.  
“Oh, well, I’ve got to go this way.” Josh pointed in the opposite direction of the way Tyler was headed and nodded his head.  
“Yeah, and I’m this way.” Tyler pointed sharp and awkward in the direction of his house. They stood there for a couple seconds longer, sort of staring at eachother, until Josh broke the silence.  
“Well, um, bye Tyler. I’ll see you around, yeah?” Something Tyler couldn’t identify flashed across Josh’s face for a split second, then was quickly replaced with a wide grin.  
“Yeah,” Tyler’s voice was slightly higher than usual so he cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, it was- it was nice, uh, walking with you.” He internally cursed his awkwardness, this usually never happened and he was quite frustrated with himself. Where was his usual charm when he needs it? _Not that he would ever need to charm Josh, God._  
“I had fun. I’ll see ya later, then. Bye Tyler.” he gave a small wave and turned to walk down his street.  
Knowing it wouldn’t be heard, Tyler quietly replied “Bye Josh.” and turned to walk the remaining distance to his house, he was surprisingly less cold than he was when he first started walking. He figured it was the unusualness of walking with someone, the distraction. Nothing else. Nothing else.  
     He entered his room and let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. So, it turns out Drink Spiller isn’t a douchebag after all, so what? Who cares if his name is Josh and is actually the nicest, funniest person Tyler’s ever met. It only means, for the first time in Tyler’s life, he actually wants to be somebody else’s friend. Tyler looks at his bedside clock and it reads 3:53 pm. He shouldn’t feel as exhausted as he does, but he can’t help but give in to the appeal of a soft, warm bed. He thinks about calling one of the girl’s numbers he got at the party to come over and make out, like he would usually do if he were feeling this way, but he decides against it and falls asleep to thought of warm hands around his waist and full lips on his throat.

 

..

 

     The next three weeks of Tyler’s life was a whirlwind of events. He had a paper due in his Intro to Psych class that was worth 35% of his grade, he kept falling behind in his Physics class, and he was constantly trying to balance his academic and social life, with little to no avail. He had picked up the habit of going straight to the top floor of the library every day after classes- no exceptions- and forced himself to try and teach himself everything he didn’t understand. He saw Josh at the library almost every time he went, and as the library got more and more busy, (Tyler was certain every professor at the University had scheduled Unit Tests and Final Papers within weeks of each other on purpose) Josh and Tyler got pushed further and further to the back of the library, and, eventually, had to sit together at a small table because every other table was taken, everyone’s books already spread out upon them, claiming their territory. Tyler didn’t mind the silent company, but he found himself constantly trying to shift himself in the best position to be able to inconspicuously look at Josh while he was studying.  
     He and Josh had become pretty close over that time. They had an unspoken rule to always sit with each other, even if the library floor was particularly empty that day. Neither boy said anything upon finding the other staring at them, but neither felt the need to elaborate. It was just that, staring, and both had begun to do a lot of it. Tyler was quite pleased with himself with having successfully mentally mapped Josh’s face, every curve and line, freckle and dimple, he knew them all, and yet still wanted to know more. Josh felt very much the same.  
     During a particularly mellow library session Josh looked up for a second at Tyler only to find him already staring back. Josh smiled wide and Tyler quickly looked back down at his notes. It wasn’t twenty seconds later when he felt Tyler’s eyes on him again. He looked up and was met with the chocolate brown of the other boy’s eyes.  
Instead of looking away, Josh spoke in a hushed whisper “You stare at me a lot, y’know”  
Tyler glanced away from Josh, feeling his cheeks heat up, he had sort of hoped it had become a silent rule that they never talk about it, but he guessed Josh had had enough.  
“Yeah” he shrugged “I guess so” he waited a few seconds before adding “I’m sorry”  
“No,” Josh spoke a little too loud and quickly glanced around, checking if anyone heard him. “No” he said quieter “Don’t apologize, I stare too. I was- I was just saying. Not trying to be mean or anything. Just saying” Josh’s eyes were wider than normal as they bore into Tyler’s and he unintentionally shivered. They both allowed themselves to look before Josh smiled toothily at Tyler and continued doing his notes. Tyler followed shortly after.  
     Josh and Tyler had made it halfway to their respective homes when Josh stopped suddenly and faced Tyler, “D’you wanna come over? To my house I mean. I- I have hot chocolate, if you wanted to drink some with me. At my house. IF you want, that is.” Josh cringed slightly at how disconnected his words came out, but didn’t elaborate further.  
Tyler didn’t let himself think about an actual answer before his voice seemed to work on it’s own and he choked out a small “Yes.” Josh did what Josh does best, and smiled wide and happy.  
     Josh’s house was smaller than Tyler’s, but Tyler lived with four other guys, whereas Josh lived alone, so it was quite understandable. He was met with old, dull, hardwood, and beige walls. It smelled of honey and oak, it smelled like Christmas in Josh’s house, and Tyler wanted to bottle up the air and take it back home with him to smell whenever he was lonely. Josh had a carpeted living room, everything was warm, everything was cozy, and Tyler wanted to fall asleep on what was surely the most comfortable couch he’d ever sat in.  
“So, how about that hot chocolate?” Josh went into the kitchen, leaving Tyler to wander about his living room. Pictures from all periods of Josh’s life lined the mantle above a fireplace. Tyler would recognize the almond eyes of Josh anywhere by now. He saw family reunions, graduations, and a particularly recurring character, a girl with red hair and a round face. Pretty, and elegant. Josh’s arm was around her waist in almost every picture, her arm slung over his shoulders. At party, at a pool, a bar, a wedding. The last picture on the mantle was of Josh kissing her cheek. Tyler felt his heart contract and his head pound. He was too caught up in his own worries to hear Josh come in and set the hot chocolates down on the end table.  
“Hey, are you okay man?” Josh trained his gaze down to Tyler’s clenched fists.  
“Huh? Oh. I’m fine.” He quickly moved across the room to sit and the end of the couch and sip his hot chocolate, it burned his tongue and throat but he continued to drink. Josh gave him a questioning glance but didn’t ask.  
“I really need to get new pictures,” he supplied, gesturing to the mantle, “they’re all super old. Half the people in the pictures I have of people’s grad parties I haven’t talked to since then.” He smiled lightly and sipped from his mug. Tyler gave an affirmative sound and tried to keep his racing mind at bay.  
“So, I know you go to school full-time, but do you work anywhere?” Josh slowly sipped at his hot chocolate and let his eyes wander to Tyler’s.  
“Oh, uh, yeah I work at the smoothie shop in the university gym- it’s a pretty good job- free smoothies and stuff, can’t complain. Uh, what about you?” Tyler crossed his legs and cradled the mug closer to his face to feel the steam, and hopefully warm up his frozen cheeks.  
“Yeah! I actually help people edit papers and stuff- mostly freshmen- but I get a lot of people asking me to edit and revise, I guess I’m pretty good at it.” He shrugs noncommittally and smiles toothily at Tyler.  
“Thats- that’s cool…” Tyler smiles back and continues nursing his hot chocolate while focusing on breathing.  
“But it’s weird that I never see you when you’re working, I’m always at the gym, I must just always miss you or something.” The image of Josh working out enters straight into Tyler’s brain and burns his retinas, he shakes the thought away immediately and attempts not to choke on his hot chocolate.  
“Huh, yeah” he manages to croak out, “must just- must just miss me, haha.” Josh gives him an odd look but doesn’t comment.  
     Tyler stays at Josh’s, talking and just hanging out, until much later than he had planned to. He found it so easy to talk to Josh and he had never quite experienced that with anyone else. He got home late and endured the hoots and hollers of his roommates- who all probably assumed he was out getting laid, but to be honest, he couldn’t blame them, he did do it a lot. Used to do it a lot. Tyler just chalks it up to the weather and to the fact school is kicking his ass.  
     He makes it up to his bedroom and shuts the door with his foot. He faceplants into his pillow and doesn’t even try and stop the smile from forming on his face. He falls asleep and dreams of warm tea and the smell of Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> wow josh really knows how to get a boy's attention amirite friends?
> 
> also how long should this be people i can do slow burn or i can not do that i can do a happy medium ill do whateva but u should tell me lmao plus who tops (ik most will say josh but ill keep my options open). thanks!


End file.
